Into the Unknown
by jremme
Summary: Majorly AU. Wilson and House go to Africa to work with Sebastian Charles and meet Cameron over there working with him. H/Cam relationship ensues eventually. Before Cameron gets hired at PPTH. ON HIATUS FOR A BIT
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I didn't wanna update any of my existing fics so soon, so I thought I might post a new fic, the idea for which has been rolling around in my mostly empty brain for awhile. I have no idea whether or not I'll continue it. That depends on the readers. If you like it and would like more, please let me know, and I'll be more than happy to continue. Otherwise, I'll forget I ever posted the first chap and it'll continue being an idea. That said, enjoy!**

**Into t****he unknown by Jremme**

**Chapter 1:**** vacation from Cuddy**

It was a normal day at PPTH. The sun was shining, Foreman and Chase were doing their job, and House was taking a snooze in his office, ignoring the steady ring of his office telephone. The ringing ceased. Almost as soon as it quit, his cell phone began its tune.

Frustrated, he picked up.

"What is it?"

Wilson's voice came through the phone. It sounded excited.

"I've been trying to call you! Get over here, I have news!!"

He hung up abruptly, leaving House holding the phone. Naturally, he didn't want to get up and leave his office. This made him vulnerable to Cuddy. She had a sixth sense, always able to tell when he was out of the office and on the move. He didn't want to deal with her today, or ever, for that matter. But, Wilson was obviously jumped up about something. He had to find out what.

He cautiously opened the door of his office, and looked both ways. No sign of her. He crept out and went as fast as he could possibly go in the direction of the elevator. He arrived at the elevator and punched the open button repeatedly.

"House! Hold it right there!"

He punched the button again and again with a new sense of urgency as Cuddy appeared out of thin air, and began walking towards him. The damn doors remained closed.

He cursed under his breath and turned to face her.

"How's your patient?"

"Not dead, as far as I know. Foreman and Chase are working on it."

"Why aren't you?"

"Because I have more important things to do."

"Like your charting, budget, and clinic hours?"

"Exactly."

"Uh, huh, and where are you going now?"

"To Wilson's office. He has all these tips for budget preparation he just couldn't wait to share with me."

Cuddy raised an eyebrow at him, and sighed.

"As long as you're being productive. I'll expect your budget to be completed this week then."

"Not a problem." He hadn't even started it yet, and had no intention of doing so. But she hopefully didn't know that.

The elevator doors opened then, and he stepped inside, and punched the button for Wilson's floor. The doors closed on Cuddy's doubtful expression, and he slumped against the wall and watched the numbers progress to his chosen floor.

He entered Wilson's office cautiously, and found the oncologist behind his desk, grinning from ear to ear.

"One of your ex-wives die?"

"No, but I've decided to take a short sabbatical in order to make a contribution on more of a global scale."

"Which means…what?"

"I'm going to Africa!"

"To do what?"

"To lend my services as a physician to those less fortunate. To help people!"

"And you're telling me why?"

"Because I figured you might it a bit odd when I dropped off the face of the earth for a week."

"A week? You're going halfway around the world for just a week?"

"Yea, that's really all the time I can stay away from here. If it works out, I'll most likely go back. I'll be working with Dr. Sebastian Charles and his team too! That oughta be interesting!"

House made a disgusted sound at the mention of Dr. Charles.

"I know you don't think much of him, but it's still a good opportunity to make a difference."

"Yea, for a week."

"If I can change even one person's life, it'll be worth it."

Typical Wilson, out to save the world one sick African at a time. House wasn't at all surprised. This was just so…Wilson.

"So, what am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

"I was actually thinking about asking you to go with me. It might humble you a bit."

"Why don't you just kill me now?"

"Is it your leg? Well, some things are more important. Look at the big picture. Think of all the good you could do."

"You do know who you're talking to, right? Think about what you're asking me to do."

"I know. I just thought that maybe you'd go for it."

"You thought wrong. It's absurd."

"I thought you liked absurd."

"Only when it's a patient. Take Cuddy with you. You'd be doing us both a favor."

"Cuddy's not my best friend."

"She could be, a best friend with benefits."

Wilson ran a hand through his hair. He had known House would say no, but deep down, he had been hoping for the opposite. Not just because of the good House could do over there, but because he didn't want to go through it all alone.

"Get out then. I have to finish making plans," he said, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice.

House left, and made his way back to the elevator, thinking. There was no way he could physically get through it, he knew that for sure. But on the other hand, Wilson would probably pick up the airfare and his other expenses. And, on top of that, it would get him away from Cuddy and his fellows for a week.

He went back to his office and debated, weighing the pros and cons, and ignoring Foreman and Chase's repeated requests for some kind of guidence in their current case.

At the end of the day, his mind was made up, and after checking the hallways for Cuddy, he went stealthily to the elevator and back to Wilson's office, only to find out that Cuddy's absence was due to the fact that she was with Wilson, helping him finalize his plans.

"Can't you ever just stay in your office all day?" he asked by way of acknowledging her presence.

"What, like you?" she retorted, and turned back to Wilson.

"Looks like everything's all set here, James. Have a safe trip!" She gave him a little hug, and took her leave. Once the door shut behind her, Wilson looked at House, still lingering near the doorway.

"Come back to ridicule me for doing this?"

"No, actually. After weighing all the options and downsides to this, I have concluded that I will go with you. But I reserve the right to murder Sebastian Charles if he annoys me too much."

"You're seriously going to go with me to Africa?! This isn't a joke?"

"Nope. I'll think of it as a painful extended vacation from Cuddy. I just need to bring tons of Vicodin with me. Then maybe I'll get through this."

"You'll survive. And despite your motives for going, I think you'll make a difference."

"When's the flight?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'll pick you up at 2. Be ready. I need to get you a ticket too. It'll be my treat since I asked you to go."

"Damn straight. You can't expect me to go and pay my own way too."

"I figured as much. I'll get it taken care of and I'll see you tomorrow."

House left the office for the second time that day and went back to tell Foreman and Chase.

"You're just leaving?" Chase asked.

"Yep. You two will be fine without me. You're not total idiots. The patient's stable?"

They nodded.

"Then you really don't need me. You only think you do. Learn to be independent. Leave the nest and fly free!"

With that, he retreated into his office for his belongings, and went home to get packed and get some sleep.

**A/N: Ok, so please R&R and let me know what you think. I need feedback!! Thanks for checkin it out and I hope it's worth continuing.**


	2. bored in the concourse

**A/N: I'm declaring the trial chap a tentative success, which means I'm writing more! Hope that's cool with y'all. Many thanks to all who read and reviewed! It means a lot. Enjoy!**** This chapter was inspired partially by my experience in O'Hare with my student group when we travelled to London.**

**Chapter 2: bored in the concourse**

Wilson arrived at House's right on time, being careful to allow enough time to catch their flight. He knocked on the door for what felt like 20 minutes before it was opened abruptly.

"Oh, it's you."

"Nice to see you too, House. You ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Then let the adventure begin!" Wilson led the way back outside and got into his car.

"You're leaving this parked at the airport all week?" House asked as they loaded his luggage into Wilson's car.

"Nope, Lisa and a friend are going to pick it up and take it back to my place." Wilson put a smaller bag in the trunk, frowning and looking at House when he heard the telltale sound of rattling pills.

House ignored the look. "Then what happens when we get back? Is _Lisa _going to pick us up?" He emphasized his use of her first name.

"Nope. Ever hear of a cab?" Wilson started the car and pulled out into the street. He turned the radio on, and some happy song House couldn't identify blared through the speakers.

"You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?"

Wilson tapped his hands on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music.

"I'm looking forward to being a part of something bigger than me, something that can do other people a lot of good. You should be looking forward to it too."

"Oh, I am. I'm also looking forward to my trip to the dentist next month, and to the day when a shark bites my head off."

Wilson shook his head. Hopefully his friend would change his mind.

They arrived at the airport. House took possession of the Vicodin filled bag, leaving Wilson to juggle the rest of their luggage. He strode off to the concourse, leaving Wilson staggering behind under all the weight.

"I thought you'd never get here," he greeted Wilson after the other man arrived at the concourse after checking the bags.

"Well, a little more help would have been appreciated," Wilson panted, yanking the bottle of water House offered him out of his hands and guzzling half of it down.

Wilson sat down heavily next to House and fished a word-find out of his carry-on. He then began digging around for a pen, coming up empty-handed.

"I forgot a pen! I can't believe it. Do you have one?"

House opened the bag around his shoulder, and handed Wilson a pen with a chewed up cap.

"Ew!" Wilson stared at the cap, which was practically non-existent, just a mass of tooth marks.

"From my own personal collection. I was gonna give it to Chase and Foreman as a gift before I left."

"How thoughtful of you," Wilson removed the cap, touching it as little as humanly possible. House glanced around the area, taking stock of the other people waiting for the flight. Growing bored, he opened the bag again, and pulled out a large plastic bag filled with small containers of Play-Doh.

Wilson put his word-find down and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Play-Doh?"

"Best stuff ever made. It's non-toxic if you want some."

"I don't even want to know if you're being serious or not, so I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that, and go back to my word-find." He turned down to the paper in his lap, concentrating on finding one particular word that was eluding him. As he concentrated, the pen cap got closer and closer to his mouth. House put his Play-Doh down and watched intently.

The pen went in, and Wilson's teeth came down on it. As soon as they did, he felt the other teeth marks in it that House had inflicted upon it previously. It suddenly dawned on him what he'd just done. With a noise of disgust, he spit out the cap, and it went flying across the room, hitting an absolutely huge man in the shoulder.

Wilson paled, and he tried desperately to act nonchalant, while House grinned. The man, thankfully, decided that taking action against Wilson was not worth his time. He glared for a moment, and then went back to his newspaper.

"That was close," Wilson said in relief. Suddenly, he didn't feel like completing the word-find. He looked over at House, who was making various pieces of anatomy with the Play-Doh.

"What are you doing?"

House stopped for a moment, admiring his handiwork.

"Accurate, huh?" He gestured at a pair of large, round pieces of Play-Doh, joined in the middle, with a smaller round piece on each.

"These were inspired by Cuddy. I thought you might like them,"

"There are kids here, you know?" Wilson reminded him, attempting to cover the Play-Doh breasts with his hands.

Instead, it ended up looking like he was groping them, and he noticed with embarrassment that a woman was turning her child's head in the other direction with a look of disgust on her face. House remained oblivious.

"So?"

Wilson ran a hand over his neck, and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He felt something on his leg and opened his eyes to find two more large round pieces of Play-Doh. He turned to House.

"What is this supposed to be?"

"Guess!"

"No way, I'm not being drawn into this."

"You're no fun at all. It's Cuddy's ass. And I made it especially for you, so enjoy."

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Play with it. I can tell you're bored."

"I refuse to play with Play-Doh shaped like my boss's….backside."

House leaned over and took the lumps of Play-Doh, rolling them together until they were a single ball. He handed the ball over to Wilson. He didn't take it.

"There. Now play with it. You know you want to." He passed it back and forth under Wilson's gaze until he finally grabbed it.

He held it, passing it from hand to hand, then finally, going against his own mind, he began shaping it into a person, head first, then arms and legs. When finished, he looked at it. Not bad.

"Where's the plumbing?" House asked, looking at it with scrutiny.

Wilson sighed. "It's a woman."

"Then she needs these." He handed Wilson a set of miniature breasts, which he took before realizing what they were. Instead of giving them back, he shaped it into hair, which he placed on top of his person's head.

Having finished his person, he placed it on the empty seat next to him.

House held out his hand for the person, and Wilson gave it up, watching as his creation was pummeled into a mass of shapeless Play-Doh, which was put back into its container, and from there, into the bag from whence it came.

House then got up, and headed off in the direction of the souvenir shop, coming back with two postcards and postage. He took the cap-less pen from Wilson, and scribbled something on both.

"What are you doing now?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

He passed the postcards to Wilson.

The first was addressed to Drs. Foreman and Chase, the second to Lisa Cuddy, care of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. They were identical, picturing women in bikinis, smiling seductively.

Cuddy's said, '_Bored to death in the airport. Glad you're not here, although I miss the twins. And yes, I will thoroughly enjoy driving Wilson insane on this trip. Try not to fall apart without me. –GH__'_

Foreman and Chase's said, '_Try not to burn the place down or get anyone killed while I'm gone. If you must burn something, burn Cuddy's office. Stay away from my office, you'll find it's booby-trapped. Consider that your warning. Love__ always and forever__, your boss_'

"_That'll confuse the hell out of them_," Wilson thought.

House took the cards back and left in search of a mailbox. When he came back, the announcement came that their plane was boarding.

"Finally!" He took off for the gate.

Wilson stood, stretched, and followed behind his friend. If this was any indication of how the flight was going to be, they'd be removing him from the plane in a straitjacket.

**A/N: Please R&R!! I'm hoping people will continue to read and like this fic, cause I have high hopes for it! Thank you!!**


	3. flight from hell

**A/N: It's been a long time since I updated, I know. I'd throw a bunch of excuses at you, but they'd just be excuses. So, instead, I beg forgiveness from my readers, and ask you to please enjoy!**

**Chapter 3: flight from hell**

Wilson and House boarded the plane, making their way to their seats. House turned this way and that, trying to locate them, his bag swinging into other passengers each time he did. Wilson winced every time he heard a rattle of the pills in the bag, followed by a thump as it connected with a head or a shoulder.

When they were finally seated, Wilson was a little disappointed to see that he had an aisle seat. He had been looking forward to being able to look out the window at the ocean. Maybe he'd get one on the trip back. He clearly recalled his last trans-oceanic flight. He had stared out the window for what had to have been hours, at the crystalline blue ocean beneath him. It had been an awe-inspiring experience- it had been so vast, and one that he had been eager to repeat.

He certainly didn't want to ask House to switch with him. It was better not to provoke anything, even talking, out of him. He told himself he would just stay silent, and hope nothing embarrassing occurred.

The plane took off smoothly, and Wilson closed his eyes and put on the headphones that came with his seat, and tuned the music to some relaxing classical. He was listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons when he felt an elbow mash into his ribs.

He opened his eyes, and pulled off the headphones. It was starting already. "What?"

"Nothing, damn, I just wanted to see if you wanted to watch 'Bring it on' with me."

"No, I just want to relax, maybe take a nap."

"Suit yourself." He settled in to watch the teen cheerleading movie. Wilson calculated how much quiet time he had. Not long. He continued listening to the music, ignoring House when he cheered for the Clovers not accepting Kirsten Dunst's offer to sponsor their squad in the national competition. "You go girl!"

Instead, Wilson lost himself in Beethoven's 'Fur Elise'. He was starting to drift off, and as he did, he thought about what would happen on this trip, all the good they had the potential to accomplish. And, the icing on the cake was that he would meet Sebastian Charles. He had heard a lot about the man, his work, and was anxious to get to know him and maybe accomplish a fraction of the things he had over there.

After an hour and a half, Wilson was lightly snoring, gone to the world, when all of a sudden, he was shaken roughly awake, by House, who had a hand on his shoulder and looked frantic.

"What is it House?" He asked, not really certain whether or not he actually wanted to know.

"There's….someone on the wing….some…thing," House said in his best William Shatner impression.

Wilson's head banged against the back of his seat three times, then he turned and looked at his friend.

"There is nothing on the wing of the plane. You're right about one thing, though. We _are _in the Twilight Zone, or at least I am." He rubbed the tension out of his neck and attempted to get back to his nap.

HHHHHHHHH

Foreman and Chase were sitting in the conference room, not doing anything productive, but staring at House's office door.

"Should we go in there and snoop?" Foreman asked.

"Probably shouldn't. Breaking in isn't right. It is _his_ office after all. Plus, he's probably got it booby-trapped or something, like Indiana Jones."

"Yea, you're right. If we move anything, a huge boulder is going to come rolling down from the ceiling and chase us all over the hospital." The two men chuckled at the reference.

"So, what should we do?" Chase wondered.

"Well, we could work," Foreman said.

"No way! How does that saying go? 'When the cat's away, the mice will play'? Well, we're the mice, so let's play."

"Play what? We do anything out of the ordinary, and Cuddy will start watching us like a hawk."

"Well, let's start small. Let's go flirt with some of nurses," Chase suggested with a shrug. "We can go from there."

Foreman nodded his assent. "Ok, we'll start there." They got up as one, and left the department.

HHHHHHHH

After several hours of constant poking and prodding from House over stupid things, Wilson had become exasperated and had resorted to hiding out in one of the small, cramped bathrooms. He leaned back against the tiny sink and sighed contentedly. Quiet, at last. This was short lived, however, as the flight attendant's voice came on, telling everyone to go back to their seats and get buckled because of mild turbulence.

Wilson shook his head. No way was he going back now. Confident in his decision, he closed his eyes, and tried to relax in the uncomfortable confines of the bathroom stall. A moment later, the first wave of turbulence hit, and Wilson was jostled roughly from side to side.

He grabbed onto the sink to steady himself, and the wave passed, only to be followed by another, and another. When it was all over, Wilson knew he'd have bruises. He stood up dizzily, and walked in a daze back to his seat.

"Join the mile high club?" House asked as Wilson crashed into his seat.

"What?" It took a moment for Wilson to realize what he was talking about. "No! I just wanted to get away from you for a while."

"I'm hurt."

"I bet you are."

"Make it up to me."

Wilson sighed. "How?"

"Make the plane land."

"We're not there yet!"

"But I'm tired of flying! It's been hours, and there are no good movies on anymore."

"Tough. Grow up, and find something to keep yourself occupied. Sleep."

"Good idea." House grabbed the blanket from under his seat, covered himself with it, and closed his eyes. Minutes later, he was asleep, snoring lightly.

"_Thank God_," Wilson thought. He reached into his bag and pulled out the book he'd brought. It was starting to get dark, so he pushed the button for his overhead light, and began to read in peace.

HHHHHH

Chase and Foreman returned to the conference room after several hours of successful flirting, both of them having acquired dates for the coming Friday night.

Chase sat in a chair and put his feet on the table, something he knew House wouldn't want him to do. "Now what?"

Foreman thought a moment. "Now…we have some coffee."

"But we do that every day."

"I know, but I'm thirsty." He went over to the coffee pot and poured some into a mug that had been sitting upright on the nearby counter…a certain red mug. He looked at Chase with a smirk, and raised the mug to his lips.

Chase grinned back, nodding his head. "Nice."

Foreman took a sip, then immediately leaned over the sink and spit it out.

"What is it?" Chase asked.

"It tastes like soap!" He looked into the mug and noticed for the first time, the little flakes floating in it.

"Not only is his office possibly booby-trapped, but his mug is as well," Foreman dumped out the contents of the mug and set it back where he'd found it. "Yuck, I'm never going to get that taste out of my mouth. I should have noticed. It was right side up, and if I'd looked, I would have seen the flakes in it."

"The man is good. You gotta give him that," Chase said.

Foreman nodded. "He's good."

**A/N: I know this is short, and I'm sorry for that. Please review. As a reward for your patience with me and your review, I may send either Hugh Laurie or Jesse Spencer (your choice) to your house with the beverage of your choice (not soap filled coffee, I hope!) Thank you!!**


	4. Alison Cameron

**A/N: Thank you all for the response****s**** to this fic! It's greatly appreciated. Without further ado, here's the chap. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: Alison Cameron**

The hot African sun pounded down onto the small house, even in the morning hours. Dr. Alison Cameron lay in bed, eyes still closed. She was awake, had been for some time, actually. But she made no move to get up just yet. She had a feeling about today, that it would be different. For some reason, she was sure that her life was about to change.

She'd been here in Africa for 6 months, and every day was different. Different faces, different situations. She shrugged off the feeling, and opened her eyes, her gaze travelling to the other side of the bed. It was empty. She stepped out of bed and threw on a robe, walking into the small kitchen nook.

"Sebastian?"

"I thought I'd make breakfast," her boyfriend looked at her a little sheepishly, gesturing at the eggs in the pan that he was scrambling.

"I see." She felt a smile creep across her face. "Thank you. I was just a little concerned when I woke up and you weren't there." She felt stupid saying such things, but oh, well. She kissed him on the cheek and took a seat at the small table where a cup of coffee was already waiting for her.

Sebastian Charles laid a plate in front of her and sat down across from her.

"Dr. James Wilson is due to arrive today, and maybe a colleague of his too. He wasn't sure if he could convince him to come."

Cameron sipped at her coffee and took a bite of egg. "Good. We could always use more help. How long are they staying?"

"A week. An oncologist will be helpful, although I wish we had more equipment for him to work with."

"It'll all be fine. We've gotten along without technology until now, and we'll continue to get by. The important thing is that we help people, which I'm sure is an opinion that Dr. Wilson and his colleague share."

"You're right. It just bothers me that we can't get more funding." He sighed in frustration at the powers that be, and stood. He kissed her on the lips, and headed out the door. On the way out, he called over his shoulder at her.

"I'll be at the compound. No hurry, take your time. Dr. Wilson's plane arrives at 11. I've arranged for him to be picked up and brought here."

She nodded her head, and continued her breakfast, wondering if maybe Dr. Wilson's arrival was the reason for the feeling she'd had earlier.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Wilson's feet hit solid ground and he felt like dropping to his knees and kissing it, bacteria and all. He was so glad to be off that plane. Well, more accurately, he was glad that House was off the plane. He'd been an absolute terror, and Wilson was not looking forward to their return journey.

House followed Wilson off the plane, glad to be out in the open. He wrinkled his nose and pulled out his sunglasses.

"It's hot Wilson," he whined.

"It's Africa, House. How did you think it was going to be?"

"Is it gonna be like this all week? Cause if it is, I'm getting right back on that plane."

"Suck it up. A little discomfort is worth it."

"Speak for yourself."

Wilson sighed and looked around for their ride. A young man noticed him gazing around and trotted over to them.

"Dr. Wilson?" he asked.

"Yes. This is my colleague, Dr. House."

"I'm Kwame." The young man smiled at them both and gestured toward the baggage claim area.

"As soon as you have your belongings, I'll take you to the compound."

"Thank you," Wilson said, and shoved House in the direction of the claim area. Once they had their bags, or once Wilson had all the bags, they followed Kwame out to a truck.

"I'm afraid one of you will have to sit in the back," he said. "We weren't sure you were coming Dr. House, and our van is being used elsewhere."

"I'll sit in back, no problem," Wilson offered. It would give him more of a view at least, and he couldn't wait to see the beauty that was Zambia.

"We're a couple of hours away from Victoria Falls. If you should have the opportunity to visit, it is definitely worth the trip," Kwame said as Wilson loaded up the luggage. House planted himself in the passenger side of the truck and didn't say anything, which Wilson was thankful for.

"Sounds good. I've seen pictures of the falls, of course, but I'm sure they don't do it any justice," Wilson said. He was getting more excited by the second.

"Certainly not. You must see the falls up close to fully appreciate their beauty." Kwame made sure Wilson was situated in the back of the truck before moving into the driver's seat. He started the truck up, and with a loud rumble, they were off.

Wilson couldn't have been happier. Despite the wind whipping his face, he was in awe by the country they passed on their way to the compound, which was located centrally to several of the more remote villages. Dr. Charles had told him over the phone that people traveled for days sometimes to seek medical attention at the compound. And once a week, volunteers travelled to each of the nearby villages to attend to those who couldn't make the journey.

When they arrived at the compound, Wilson climbed from the back, his hair a wreck from the wind. He smoothed it back, which didn't improve his appearance much. House smirked when he got out of the truck and laid eyes on him.

"That's a good look for you Wilson."

Wilson ignored him and looked around. There were people milling around everywhere, and a line had formed outside a tent that Wilson figured must be a medical tent.

"_So many people_," he thought, sadly.

"We have a small staff of volunteers here. We take turns assisting the doctors during the day," Kwame explained as they walked. "There are 5 doctors here, and they take turns as well. You know about Dr. Charles, but we also have Dr. Stevens, Dr. Cameron, Dr. Okafor, and Dr. Conteh." He led them past several more buildings, pointing out the mess hall, and the doctor's residences.

"Mess hall? What is this, the army?" House asked. Wilson elbowed him. House glared at him, but shut up. Kwame turned them around and led them to the medical tent. Wilson's mood sobered even more when he saw the people up close. Some were clearly very ill and Wilson was impressed with their courage, knowing the time and distance it had taken some to travel there.

They went inside and Wilson and House were introduced to Drs. Stevens, Okafor, and Comteh. All three were very kind and gracious, shaking hands with the newcomers. Wilson felt an instant rapport with all of them. House looked decidedly uncomfortable with all the thanks and warm greetings, but at least he didn't say anything rude.

Kwame noticed Dr. Charles was finished with the patient he'd been speaking with, and he waved him over. House groaned quietly. Sebastian jogged over, and immediately enveloped Wilson's hand in both his own.

"Thank you so much for coming, James. This means a lot."

"Of course, I just hope I can help out."

"You'll be a great help, both of you." He turned to House. "This must be the colleague you had to convince to come with you."

"Yes, this is Dr. Gregory House," Wilson said. Dr. Charles smiled and held out his hand. House glanced over at Wilson, giving him a 'do I have to?' look. Wilson gave him a look back that clearly conveyed that, yes, he had to. House shook Sebastian's hand with a clearly phony smile plastered on his face. Sebastian either didn't notice or chose to ignore it.

"You'll both be staying with me and Dr. Cameron. I hope you don't mind camping out in the sitting room. The whole place is small but it's the best we can do."

"It'll be fine," Wilson said as House was about to protest.

"You'll forgive me for not showing you to the house, but things are a bit busy. Take your time settling in, and whenever you're ready, come back out here, and we'll get you both started. Alison, Dr. Cameron that is, will show you around the place."

He gave another smile and walked away. Kwame, who had been standing nearby, came back and pointed the way to the house. Then he bade them good-bye and went off to assist Dr. Okafor.

"Wilson, do you have any idea how much pain I'm going to be in, sleeping on the floor for a week?"

"You'll pull through. That's why you packed a whole bag of pills, isn't it?" Without another word, Wilson started toward the small house, while House stayed behind for a few moments, looking around the compound. Then, he followed Wilson at a slow pace.

Wilson knocked on the simple wooden door. No answer. He opened the door and poked his head in.

"Hello? Dr. Cameron?" A head peered around the corner, and was soon followed by a body.

"Dr. Wilson?"

"Yes." Wilson stepped inside, and extended his hand, which was promptly shook by the slender woman standing before him in jeans and a sleeveless top.

"Wonderful to meet you. We're glad to have you. Your luggage was already brought over. We don't have much space so it's just kind of sitting there." She gestured to where their bags were piled against the wall.

"Not a problem. That was nice of whoever brought them over here." Wilson smiled. He couldn't believe they were getting such a warm welcome.

"I'm guessing from the amount of luggage that your colleague came along as well?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, he'll be along in a minute. He was wandering around when I started over here."

Cameron grinned and nodded. "All right, well, I'll show you around then for now, although there's not much to look at." She led him through the small sitting room, around the luggage sitting there.

"Over there is the kitchen nook. We have plumbing and electricity, you'll be happy to know. It was actually installed very recently. This place is getting more and more permanent all the time. It's so exciting! There's no heat though. It gets pretty cool at night, but we have extra blankets so don't worry about that. The bathroom's over here, and my and Sebastian's bedroom is there, and I guess that's about it." She finished with a little flourish and looked at Wilson.

"It's very cozy," he said.

"What you mean is it's very small," Cameron corrected with a giggle. "But, it's home." She led him out onto the porch. "I suppose Sebastian's eager to get you to work, but before you go, would you like a glass of lemonade? We just got supplies in last week, so we have pretty much everything right now. I always insist on lemonade. It's perfect for a hot day, which is just about every day."

"That sounds great, thank you." Wilson sat in a wicker chair and looked out over the compound. He saw House making his way up to the porch and waved. House walked on to the porch and crashed in a second chair.

"I'm in hell," he muttered.

"I like it here. Everyone's great," Wilson defended. He called to Cameron inside and asked for an extra glass of lemonade for House.

"Not a problem," she called back.

"Another woman? I hope she's better looking than Dr. Stevens. Yikes. The wild dogs of Africa have nothing on her."

"Shut up House," Wilson said sharply. He didn't want Cameron to overhear.

She came back out balancing a tray with 3 glasses of lemonade on it. She set the tray down on the small table between the two chairs, and turned to face House. She stopped as if frozen despite the heat of the day. She found she couldn't move. He was just sitting there, hands on the arms of the chair, face unreadable. And yet, she felt drawn to him somehow. After a moment, though, her manners kicked in and she held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Alison Cameron."

He didn't take her hand, didn't say anything, and didn't move for a minute or so. He just looked at her. She was beautiful, there was no denying it. He took his sunglasses off to see her better and Cameron suddenly found herself staring into the bluest eyes she had ever seen in her life.

She felt her mouth drop open just a bit, and caught herself, closing it before he noticed. Then she finally felt him take her hand. He had a strong grip, even more so than Wilson's and both allowed the handshake to linger a little longer than it should. All the while, their eyes never left each other, and Cameron had to have an inner struggle with herself before she found the strength to look away from those eyes and that piercing stare.

She collapsed into another chair, and found that her hands were shaking ever so slightly. She quickly folded them in front of her, not trusting herself to pick up her glass of lemonade. Her legs felt weak and she wondered why she was having that kind of reaction. He was here to help Dr. Wilson and she was happy with Sebastian. This was not a feeling she should be having.

She thought back briefly to her feeling that morning. Was he the reason she had felt that way? Was meeting him what made today different from all other days, and was supposed to be life changing?

Wilson didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but he did notice that House wasn't introducing himself, so he jumped in.

"Dr. Cameron, this is Gregory House."

After a moment, Cameron found her voice. "Just call me Alison, or Cameron's fine too. No one goes by titles here, really."

Wilson nodded his understanding, unable to feel the electricity in the air that had been generated by Cameron and House. The two involved felt it though. Cameron was confused by it, and House stayed superficial about it; he'd just met a hot woman, and he'd checked her out. Plain and simple. After a week, he wouldn't see her again, so why dwell on the possibility of any mutual attraction?

They drank their lemonade, Cameron still not touching hers. Then they headed off to the medical tent to get started. House, of course, needed a bit of prodding from Wilson, but he finally got up and left with him.

"Thank you for the lemonade, Alison. Will you be down to work later?" Wilson asked.

"Yea, I just have a few more things to do around here first," Cameron replied. She watched them leave, and shook her head to clear out the cobwebs that had appeared there when she first laid eyes on Gregory House.

**A/N: Wow, that got long! I was going to split it up, but I figured people were waiting for them to meet, so I kept it as one instead of being mean. Proud of me? Anyway, I hope you liked it and I hope the first meeting was ok for you.**** I'm slightly dissatisfied with it, but l****et me k****now what you thought. Thank you!**


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